Reincarnation Cycle Naruto Edition
by Masteria
Summary: I went to the local Carnival. I wake up in an otherworldly looking room. Two supernatural strangers request something from me. I accept without knowing all the details. How long will I last as Naruto Uzumaki? Rated M for Language and Adult Themes. Some gay relationships.
1. Chapter 1

Reincarnation Cycle:

Naruto Edition

Chapter 1: Reincarnation isn't real, is it?

I do not own Naruto. Please support the Official Release.

Running and breathing. That is what I have to focus on during the day right now. Doing nothing but that allows my mind to drift at night. Back to how I ended up here with someone teaching me how to be one of the local warriors. One could almost be mistaken in thinking that I wanted this. I was, in fact, curious about what life would be like being in one of my favorite fictional series. I was acutely aware that living in another universe required different rules as sometimes they operated on different laws of physics so to speak. What I do know is that I was not told that I would be starting from the beginning of each person's life I was an inhabitant in with acute awareness of everything around me. Being one of many things I was not informed of, this leads me to suspect that the person that sent me here has an agenda. I just need to have the time to figure it out. Allow me, the one who went through this, to tell you how it all began so that you can determine for yourself if I am just being ungrateful, or if I really am being set up for something I didn't ask for.  
It was a weekday. I remember that much. I had decided to go to a yearly carnival alone as I wanted to ride one of my favorite rides. I rode that and several others. I played a couple games and grumbled when my stomach made itself known. Begrudgingly I left the fun and games to go to a fast food place as the food at the carnival is always more expensive. I was on my way to food when I felt pain in my head and passed out, anxiety kicking it at the last second as I worried about my well being. I fully expected to die.  
What I did not expect was to find myself suddenly waking up in a bed more comfy than my memory foam mattress with a blanket MADE of feathers. This level of comfort seemed unreasonably expensive and I have been living on a budget for several years.  
After I accepted that I was dead and the cushy bed and blanket combo was a weird design choice for 'heaven', I looked around the room. All white floor and ceiling with black furniture and fixtures. Black walls with white electric outlets and light switches. I sighed before mumbling, "Great. I got kidnapped by someone with an eccentric taste in house design. Hopefully they are the kind to be nice unless you anger them, or even better but less likely that this is just a fantasy-dream."  
Shaking my head to clear the anxious thoughts, I sat up completely, noticing that my heart was still beating and I still felt things like I did when I was alive. I was about to get out of the bed when a loud and deep voice echoed from the other room, **"****Oh for the love of... YOU ARE NOT DEAD! Now please, if you do not mind, get out of bed and come out here."**  
Jumping at the loud voice, I checked to see that my clothes were still on and found that I had been brought here unchanged. I slid out of bed, marvelling at the details. I also was slightly amused that they let me keep my shoes on in this very fancy residence. Still, I didn't see any harm in obliging their request as I didn't know the layout and figured I could use the short walk to look for windows or doors.  
It was a short walk with no hallway. One room to the next. No door to open or window to look through. I entered what appeared to be the living room or at least a sitting room of some kind. Furniture in this room followed the previous theme and I figured it had to do with the mindset of the bass voice I had yet to identify.  
Arriving in the middle of the room and looking around, I didn't see anyone in it or anywhere they could be hiding. Apprehension filled me slowly as I didn't like mind games or the people that played them.  
** "Take a seat. We will join you shortly."** Mysterious man spoke. He was vocally in the room at least. Upon my seating on a random couch he appeared. No smoke or light. Not in the room then suddenly there leaning against the walls. As soon as he was there I was standing out of habit. I looked all over his clothing for identifying markings and found none. I couldn't see any skin or his face as he was covered head to toe in a seemingly skin tight suit that was half black and half white. The line where the colors split curled once it reached the middle of his body and formed a weird spiral shape that seemed to disappear into his suit.  
"_Please forgive my brother. It is in his nature to be what you would consider grouchy and blunt._" spoke a voice both lovely in sound and mature in tone. "_We have a request to make of you and I find people have a better time thinking things over when they are relaxed and calm._"  
After she finished speaking I felt a sense of peace wash over me and sat down. I waved my hand in what I thought was a gesture to continue and heard growling from the grouchy one. Light giggling was heard and her voice continued, "_That doesn't mean to continue where we are from. Instead it is a proposition for carnal relations. I am sure you weren't intending to offer that so we will move right along to our request._"  
As I was processing this information and the embarrassment that came from it, I took a moment to observe her. She was dressed the same as him except that the colors were inverted. I was about to comment on that, but thought better of it and closed my mouth.  
Nodding my head resulted in the grouchy one to disappear from his place on the wall and reapppear already half in motion to flop on the couch next to her and grumble, **"****I don't think you are ready for such a task, but she does and is usually more perceptive to those sorts of things. As it stands, our request is as follows: Would you be willing to learn from your predecessors how to be a warrior, a leader, a friend and a father?"**  
Placing my hand on my head and scratching the back of it with the tips of my fingers, I thought for several minutes about what that might mean. I simply figured they would bring them here. I mean, reincarnation isn't real, is it? Even if it was, you couldn't go BACKWARDS through that chain could you? I knew of a video game that had something similar to it, but I never thought I would experience it for myself. Once I came to that conclusion, I accepted their request out loud and immediately found myself surrounded by darkness. No further explination. No details. Just the request followed by seeming unconsciousness.  
I have always found sleep and unconsciouness to be unsettling because it isn't always gradual and calming like I have read in personal accounts. It's often, for me, abruptly disconnecting from reality only to slowly wake up into a dream that is surreal and uncanny. This was different. No blinking involved. No weird dream. I heard a weird woman speaking with a loving tone followed by a weird sensation of feeling full both physically and emotionally.  
Time was not something I could be aware of in the almost inky substance that surrounded me. In hindsight, I should have known what it was after a short period of time as I have read numerous stories that depicted just this sort of thing happening. Alas I did not. Part of my lack of awareness I blame on the constant state of conscious thought that never seemed to stop. Thankfully it came to an end and I was forcibly and somewhat painfully ejected from this warm place.  
I recall that while the lights from the ceiling were overly bright, I was able to squint when I opened my eyes and immediately closed them in horror. Not at the the face I saw, for it was the woman I had just came from, but at the symbol on the head of the man that held me with a loving smile. I recognized that metal bar with a stylized engraving on it from a fictional story I read and knew fairly well. Unfortunately that meant I was now a MAJOR character or at least a relative to that major character.  
I shouldn't have to tell you what happened next but I will as there was a couple of details that struck me as obviously different. I wasn't there. Let me say that again. I. was. not. there. The masked man kidnapped me and everything, but for some reason that I could not fathom or replicate since, I wasn't the one crying. It was almost like my mind could not comprehend what was going on so it gave me the boot from my own cranium. I saw everything in third person. I couldn't go more than five feet from my own body, but I was able to float so it gave me an almost surreal viewpoint of what went down.  
The second thing I noticed after the battle went down was that the masked man was visible to me in this form even when he was invisible to others. It is why I noticed that even he didn't want to do what he had done. Almost seeming to argue with himself. Knowing what I do about this universe I know who he was talking to, but that still didn't change how it looked.  
The action involved grew intense and I was suddenly wisked away from it all when my father rescued me. Then minutes later he returned and I was again relocated to a scene that I desperately tried to alter in any way. I succeeded in the most surprising way. The giant energy being that was roaring at my infant form halting in motion when I shouted, "You are a hair-brained impulsive lunatic, Kurama!"  
She heard me. Her claw stopped just shy of impaling my mother after having impaled my father. Thus instead of losing both my parents, I lost just one. I knew something bad would happen down the road as I was supposed to have been an orphan. Impulsivity was something that I was prone to when frustrated and I suppose my predeccesor has that in common with me.  
My mother and father collaborated briefly before it was decided that she needed to live to raise and protect me. I still had half of Kurama sealed into me. That HURT. I was back in my body as this was happening and heard Kurama whisper, **"****When I wake up, little human. We will have wooooorrrdddssss..."(1)**  
The next few months passed in awkwardness as I was fed naturally from both my mother and the wet nurse at the hospital when she was getting much need recovery rest. I almost didn't allow myself to be fed that way, but then realized that I would need all the nourishment I could get in order to heal and grow up strong. It was uncomfortable for me as I had an adult mind in a child's body, but I moved on once I grew accustomed to the habit.

* * *

After a few months, it was made clear to me through overheard conversations that I was not a normal child. Whenever my mother would take us out of our home, we would recieve an equal number of hated glares and awe struck stares. I was certian this was the work of someone in the shadows, but for some reason the name escaped me. I think it had to do with the constant napping I couldn't seem to avoid. My body couldn't handle both the adult brain AND containing the Kyuubi so I napped twice as often as my mother had.  
Speaking of my mother. She was beautiful. Long flowing red hair, brightly lit lavender colored eyes, and a body I know most in the city would die for. She had a lovely lilt to her voice that only became scary when she was mad, which was actually more often than you would think. I slowly fell in love with her. Not in the way I would have thought. She was a surprisingly loving and caring mother, only having gotten angry with my once when I was crawling around and almost left the apartment. I think she was projecting her irritation at herself onto me and didn't realize it because she tends to go overboard emotionally.  
Regardless, she kept her attention on me from then on. I did my absolute best to sneak around, but I couldn't fool her. I swear her awareness was otherworldly, even compared with the nurses and other adults that were around.  
I overheard a conversation between Kushina and her mentor Tsunade about why I took so many naps. It was explained that I had an abnormal amount of spiritual energy that didn't come from the Kyuubi. This make me worry that I would always be this tired and thankfully I didn't have to find out the hard way as Kushina voiced that very concern right after I finished thinking it. I was able to sleep soundly after Tsunade said I should grow out of it once I began my training.

* * *

The rest of the year was spent in relative comfort, although I should mention that learning japanese was difficult. I should mention that for some reason, until I learned the language, words apppeared under people's conversation. This was very distracting at first until I realized that all I had to do was not pay attention to the people talking and I would no longer see the words. Kushina is a good teacher, despite her hyperactive nature around her friends. She can be gentle when she wants to be and is just the right amount of nuturing without seeming overbearing.  
I finally learned how to speak a couple of months before my first birthday. Words like, "Mother" and "Father". Thinking back on it, I should have been less attentive in my attempt to learn communicate as I could have used the time to gather more information. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, as they say. This brings me to where I am today. Several years passed. I absorbed anything my mom would teach me and on my 3rd birthday she taught me how to access my chakra. Needless to say she was thrilled when the exhaustion that I displayed stopped after that and immediately followed said joy with despair when she realized she would have to keep up with me.  
I was a hellion after that. Always running wherever I could. Eventually she had to request a team of anbu follow me wherever I ran because she couldn't chase me everywhere all the time and still keep her job. Oh. I forgot to mention. She is a NINJA. Super stealth, super loud and at the same time sometimes. It was really odd. Where I came from it wasn't possible to be practically invisible and still make that much noise. Here is was commonplace. Ninjas made so much NOISE.**(2)**  
I am five years old today. It's my birthday. Mom threw me a party and invited kids that I had come to know from the playground. Sasuke 'Duck-butt' Uchiha, Shikamaru "know-it-all" Nara, Choji "Nice Guy" Akamichi and their parents. Two kids were there that surprised me until my mom explained who they were. Hinata Hyuga and Shino Aburame. It turns out that My mom was on a genin team with Hinata's mom and Sasuke's mom. Shino and his mother were there because I had met him on a trip to the library. I invited him to my birthday because he looked lonely. He told me it was illogical to worry about his well being since he was a stranger. I countered with it being logical since we were both citizens of the village and the will of fire said we needed to look out for one another.  
For my presents I received: A fuinjutsu set from my godfather Jariya with the promise of lessons once I got my handwriting up to snuff. Sasuke handed me a scroll with an e-ranked fire jutsu and promised to help me learn it if I helped him learn how to jump higher. I had learned to use chakra to jump and cushion my landing. Itachi gave me his old wooden sword once I promised to only use it to learn kenjutsu. My head nodded up and down fiercely because quite frankly his serious face is SCARY.  
Mikoto and Fugaku didn't bring any gifts but did wish me a happy birthday. I was grateful and thanked them for allowing their sons to attend. I got a surprised look from The eldest Uchiha when I added on that when I become a super strong ninja I hope he is alive and Hokage.  
The Akamichi's gave a family gift of ten free meals at any of their resturants. They also specified that it was ONLY for me and my mom still had to pay, which resulted in her pouting. I laughed as I knew my mom could eat a LOT.  
Shino apologized for his father's absence which I assured him was fine. He asked why I was ok with the potential slight to my honor and I responded with, "He is busy with Clan issues, correct?" At his nod I smiled and said, "Then he has a valid and logical reason to not be here. If he didn't need to handle clan logistics, I am certain he would have attended if he was able."  
I watched amusingly as Shino went back to his mother to explain the "confusing Uzumaki family" and came back with a book on all the insects in Fire Country and how to safely gather them. He then informed me that he would be willing to help me look around Konoha and teach me using the book as a guide so we could have something he wanted to do when he was tired of playing pranks.  
Accepting his gift with gusto and got a chuckle from his surprisingly outgoing mother. I smiled and waved since she was near the back of the room in support of Shino's tendency to get overwhelmed in crowds.  
Hiashi Hyuga was stuck-up, traditional, up-tight and a bastard at times, but I was NEVER to tell him mom said that or call him any names. Kushina valued her friendship with Hinata's mother too much. I did, however, have full permission to tell him to stop being rude when he was overly polite to hide an insult.  
I surprised him and his entourage with that when they first arrived. He had slightly bowed as appropriate and I returned it as I had been taught. What flowed from his mouth was flowery words that I don't quite remember meant to sound complimentary in a regal manner. I responded with, "Cut the shit, Hyuga-sama. We both know you wouldn't be here if your wife didn't want to be. I know you don't like me. I don't need nor care for your honor. I merely wish that you treat me civilally and we will get along fine."  
I was 'chastised' by my mother until we were out of sight. She gave me a high five and a hug. Then I pretended to be solemn when we came out so she wouldn't look bad in front of everyone. People that knew me backed up from Hiashi and even his family knew to give him space. A water balloon fell from the ceiling and drenched him. I fully expected him to get mad or take Hinata away from the party. Instead he sighed, looking at my mother with a deadpan look and said, "I apologize for my apparent insult. Please refrain from pranking me further, Your royal highness the Prank Queen."  
Giddy clapping came from the entry to the hall and I cackled. Leave it to my mom, who taught me everything I know about pranking from this lifetime to be the "Prank Queen of Konoha". Too bad he was wrong about who pranked him. Sucker.  
After Hiashi left to go get a change of clothes, the party livened up a little. At least until he returned with his families gift. Then shock rippled around the room. He approached me with THE BIGGEST fox plushie I had ever seen. The shock came not from the gift, but that he walked in with it in his hands. That means he was SEEN in PUBLIC giving me a fox gift. He placed it in front of me and gave me the smuggest smirk I have seen from a Hyuga in my five years here. Then I recieve my first revenge prank from someone other than my mother, "I thought it would fit you just fine, foxy woxy." He said as he tossed it at me.  
I had made my mother SWEAR she would never tell another soul that cute pet name she gave me when I was a 3 year old. Turns out, she talks in her sleep when she is in the village. She leaves the door open so I think that is how he found out.  
Needless to say, the party goers had a laugh as I was caught flailing under the thirty pound fox stuffy. Once my mom finished laughing she picked it up and took it to the spare room we had.  
Shikamaru walked up to me with that semi-smug, semi-lazy grin he usually has and hands me a shogi board and set. He then promptly tells me he will teach me how to play if I can find his house. I sigh and nod slowly. His father walks up and hands me a go board and set after my mom sets aside the shogi set. He repeats his son's "Find me and I'll teach you" line and I have to wonder where they get it from.  
Shikamaru's mom wasn't there as she was very pregnant and currently on bedrest in the hospital. Another change. I didn't think there would be that many, but 'one ripple in the pond creates others'.  
All in all, I had a good haul. I mean a happy birthday party. I recieved one gift from the Hokage through my mom and that was a short bo staff to practice with in case I wanted to branch out. It was literally a carved branch. He made a PUN. This guy has my sense of humor. My favorite gift was from my mother, several hours later. I was tired and had just finished cleaning up after the party. She handed me a wrapped gift. I opened it to find my father's fuinjutsu journal. Tears in our eyes we hugged after her telling me he would have wanted me to have it.  
I bathed and dressed for bed. I have been laying back and thinking about my life so far as a change is coming soon. In the Spring, I start the Academy. I am both terrified, dreading it and hopeful. I am Naruto Uzumaki. I am Masteria. I am Michael. This is my Story.

**AN - Hello. Welcome to the Rebirth of my Story. I won't promise to upload frequently as I still am depressed and dealing with anxiety. I will, however, acknowledge all the people that reviewed my previous stories. Thank you very much for offering your criticism and support. I want to apologize for my years long delay, but that would seem disingenuous. I shall try to have a chapter or two up every month, but again: NO PROMISES. This fanfiction, if I get it to where I want it to go, will be part of several in a series. Time will tell. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading.**

**1) This is said as Kurama is being drawn into the seal. I wanted to make it seem like her voice is fading. I may do this some other time if I feel like it.**

**2) Naruto is a sensor in this fic. Chakra sensing can seem like another sensory input so I am having "myself" percieve it as noise until I learn otherwise.**


	2. Chapter 2

Reincarnation Cycle.  
Naruto Edition Chapter 2 -

"Naruto." I heard once I came to awareness once more. "Naruto. Wake up." I rolled over in my half-awake mindset, determined to ignore the voice that called me by a name I was used to hearing but didn't want to acknowledge. My dream of being back where I used to be several years ago seemed better than what I would have to go do.

Suddenly I was thrown out of bed onto the floor as my mother flipped my futon with an angry visage, "My lazy son will NOT be late on his first day of The Academy. GET YOUR SELF READY FOR SCHOOL!"

Slightly disoriented, I nodded and waited for her to leave the room before I made my bed, took a short shower and got dressed in the brand new outfit that was laid on the bathroom sink. I smiled. Mom had obviously either gotten a bonus on her last mission or had saved more than I thought.

Coming into the living room and seeing her delicious home-cooked ramen on the table I rushed over in my excitement and nearly tackled her to the floor, "Thank you for breakfast and the new clothes, Kushina!"

She ruffled my hair and almost hid a grimace. She didn't like when I called her by her name instead of mother or mom. I didn't do it to spite her or too often, but to get her used to it over time so that when I was an adult or if I ever became Hokage, it wouldn't be as weird.

"Call me Mom, Naruto. Honestly, is it that hard to remember?" She said exasperatedly and gave me a warm smile. "I love you. You know that, right?"

I could tell that once again, she was both missing my father and also hoping that I wasn't losing my love for her. I knew that today was an emotional day being my first day at The Academy. I smiled brightly and responded, "I do know that, Mom. That is what makes you the best mom ever!"

Giving her another hug, I sat down and proceeded to eat my Ramen with delight. I wasn't someone that would have eaten Ramen where I came from. It didn't smell or taste good. I figured I could use this world to break some of the bad habits from my old life and always ate what she put in front of me. This lead to the lesson I received when I was six years old.

*flashback*

We had just started our lessons on diplomacy and at first I was confused at why Hiashi was sitting in my living room only one day after my lesson, but I used my training and observed his body language. He was, as usual, his stone faced self but his posture was less tense than usual. Upon receiving a nod of acknowledgement I spoke, "Pardon me, Hyuga-sama. Might I ask where my mother has gone?" To which he raised his hand in a sign I took to wait, then gestured to the chair in front of him with a simple command of, "Sit."

Complying with his request, I waited as patiently as I could. After about ten minutes, or what seemed like an hour for me, I asked, "Will you please answer my question, Hyuga-sama?" A small ghost of a smirk followed by the rebuttal of, "Which one, Uzumaki-san?" left me stifling a groan and crossing my arms in petulant frustration. More time passed. With each tick of the clock matching every other twitch of my eyebrow as I was determined to wait him out. Just before I lost my temper and as I took a breath to start shouting, Kushina walked back in the front door carrying a scroll. She set her sandals to the side and slid on her slippers shouting, "I'm home! Naruto? You better not still be slee-Oh! Hiashi! I did not expect to see you so soon. Is it that time already?"

"Mom! Where did you go?" I asked impatiently as I was still frustrated and want to get the information I felt I needed. The scroll impacted my face which gave me my answer along with, "Naruto! It is rude to interrupt two people in conversation. We just went over this yesterday. Apologize to Hiashi this instant!" I stood, pocketing the scroll and bowed, "I apologize for my rudeness, Hyuga-sama. Please forgive me."

He stood, acknowledging my bow with a partial one himself and replied, "It is alright, young Uzumaki-san. For once, it is understandable. If you will both follow me, I do not wish to be late." This forced a look of confusion on my face and a sad look of acceptance across Kushina's face with a nod from her. She pointed at the hallway and told me to get dressed in my formal wear. I did my best to put it on by myself, but messed up a little as my arms were too short to tie everything properly. We were out the door minutes later with my stomach grumbling since we were apparently skipping breakfast.

Trekking through the village did not take long as I was easily distracted by the sights and sounds, something I found disconcerting given my original level of observation skills, and we arrived at a restaurant. Hiashi bid us to wait outside in view of a gathering on the inside and at his signal come in. Kushina put her hand out and I figured she wanted the scroll. Once she had it, she unfurled it while explaining what she had done, "Lesson number three, Naruto-kun. It is rude to be invited to someone's birthday party and not show up with a present." She placed her hand on the scroll and a poof of smoke appeared. I was astounded at how quick and easy it was retrieved. She handed me a gift-wrapped box and then pointed at the gathering. I started walking and she followed at a small distance.

"I took the liberty of inviting your mom's best friend and her son to your birthday, Hinata-chan. I am sure you do not mind." Hiashi spoke, introducing us in a way that, while kind, still made me want to punch him for assuming. I bowed slightly in greeting and offered the gift, watching her open in with a happy grin plastered on my face.

Her calm yet happy face turned to one of shock, glee and mirth as she started shaking in quiet laughter at what turned out to be half her gift. My mother had included a small Fox plushie from me, complete with my name around the collar, and a picture of the very first prank a younger Kushina had pulled on "stick-up-his-butt" Hiashi Hyuga. He was covered in tar and dressed head to toe in feathers. Even their Jonin senseis were struggling to keep their laughter in. Once he saw this, he immediately dived for the picture in order to keep it in the box, but Kushina was faster. Hinata startled at the rapid movement and backed away from the fierce struggle between ninja and scooted closer to me. Shyly she smiled and said, "Thank you for the plushie, Naruto-san. I think it is cute."

Realizing my mom was setting me up for practicing my diplomacy skills, and oblivious to any potential romantic implications I responded with, "You are welcome, Hinata-san. Please feel free to just call me Naruto. I only use honorifics when dealing with non-friends, that is if you will be my friend." Which caused her to light up with joy and tackle me into a hug.

Several voices chimed in with, "awwwwww" and I became aware of not only an audience, but the blinding flare of a camera bulb going off. I looked for the source only to see my mom and her dad grinning like rivals with both of them having taken a picture and Kushina holding the present. Both Hinata and I blushed and she rushed to get off of me. I stood up and helped her up. Then cake was had. This is where I received my impromptu and unofficial lesson in poison awareness. Hinata was being forced by her mom to wait until everyone else had a slice, Hiashi was distracted by an Anbu with an important message from the Hokage and Kushina was trying to get the Anbu to go away and wait until later. I looked at Hinata and asked if it was alright if I just tasted the frosting as I was trying to wait to eat my cake until she had some, seeing as how that is what the adults were doing.

When she nodded, I dipped my finger into the frosting for my slice and licked my finger clean. What only felt like seconds went by and everything felt woozy. I wondered aloud if this is what cake is supposed to feel like and then passed out. I woke up in the hospital later with Kushina sobbing in worry and Tsunades hands glowing green over my face. I was told several things. First, that I was poisoned. Second, it was the cake. Third, It was meant for Hinata and I was not the only victim as several other kids had gotten impatient. Fourth, Hiashi wanted to speak to me as soon as I felt able. I nodded and pointed to my mom for confirmation. She dried her tears quickly once I was given a clean bill of health and motioned Tsunade to let in visitors. Hinata and Hiashi were the first of a few. They both thanked me for attending my birthday and apologized for getting me poisoned. I waved my hand and said I was glad to attend and thanked them for getting to meet a new friend. I also told Hiashi that if he really wanted to apologize for the attempt on my life, he would help Kushina find a taijutsu teacher to train me when she could not. This surprised both him and my mom as neither knew I wanted to start training.

The rest of the visits went by fast as I was slightly loopy still and after they left I was forced to sleep my Tsunade's glowing hands. I did not wake up until morning. It was mostly just an observational overnight.

*End flashback*

I recieved a smack over the back of the head as I took my first bite without thinking and was given a five minute lecture on how I should never take food for granted and check for poison at all times. I nodded through the shouting and then followed instructions. I did the smell taste, dabbed a bit of the broth with my finger and then subtly flicked in at her. Since it wasn't a threat, her shinobi senses did not alert her to it and it smacked her dead on the nose, just like I intended. I had forgotten prank rule number one. **Do. Not. Waste. Ramen.** Her hair started floating. I recognized the sign as a chance to run. I took it. I was halfway out the door in my pajamas before she caught me. An epic beatdown insued and I was dragged to the kitchen floor and left twitching while she finished both her AND my Ramen.

"That is what you get for trying a prank, even a small one, that broke the first prank rule Naruto-kun. You know better." Kushina said with a smirk, "Now go clean yourself up and maybe you can still have seconds if you are fast enough." I raced into the washroom, tearing off my clothes to put them in the dirty bin and washing myself in a cold shower to speed up the process and was out and dry in five minutes. Dressed in another two. I raced back into the kitchen to find a steaming bowl of Ramen. I shouted in glee and was about to chow down when I felt an impending sense of doom. I quickly checked for poison and the sense of doom disappeared only to feel caution and mirth. I finished the bowl and smiled, patting my belly with a sense of warmth and relaxation. I heard my mom call for me to get ready for the Academy. I went to comply, only to find myself glued to the seat. I checked and sure enough there was only a seal. I looked around for any form of counter seal and realized that this was a secondary punishment for Ramen prank. I called out that I knew I was sealed to the chair. Then I felt a small amount of 'noise' as I still call it that despite my mom saying it was Chakra. I had yet to be able to tell between different people's chakra so it all felt like soundless noise to me.

I was free to move and I went to gather my backpack which we had carefully packed with the list of school supplies mom said I would need. Then we were off. The trip through the village was still distracting, but I had come to learn that was all the Chakra lingering in the air from people milling about and from Ninjas traversing through the village on rooftops. I have begun trying to ignore it on my own, but have made little to no progress. Something the Hokage had commented on in the meeting to see if I qualified to learn to be a shinobi. My soon-to-be sensei, Iruka acknowledged the comment and wrote something down in his notes for my file.

My first day at the academy was full of excitement. I learned that I would be in the class with the first years. My birthday was in October, which was a month past the cut-off date. I sighed when I first learned this, but accepted it as some sort of link with my past self. "_Wait... When did it become my past self and not myself. I am Michael. I am Naruto. Maaaaaan. This is so confusing. I hope this gets easier when I learn meditation._"

Meeting my fellow students went about as well as I could expect when interacting with other kids. I sat next to the familiar Hinata-chan and noticed some obvious signs that told me I was in a clan with most, if not all, of the Major Clan Heirs. Sitting on the other side of Hinata and genuinely surprised I noticed him was Shino, as he introduced himself, Aburame. He noted that I was the third person that day to become aware of him without prompting. Something he explained as a side-effect of the clothing his clan chose to wear. I commented that maybe he, or his clan, could pin something to their jackets or carry something in their hands that was an attention grabber when they wished to be seen. He immediately stood, walked to the window and let out a few of his bugs to report this idea to his parents and clan. I told him to save his thanks for if something actually changed when I saw him about to bow.

Kiba Inuzuka, A brash young shinobi in training that would be come to known for three things. His lame pick-up lines with other girls in our year, challenging everyone to fight during lunch period and his cute but equally adventurous canine companion Akamaru. They got along well with pretty much everyone with the exception of Sasuke and Shikamaru for two separate reasons. One of jealousy and the other of distaste for the 'sin' of sloth.

Ino Yamanka. Sakura Haruno. These two were practically fused at the hip. They were best friends and yet rivals. They both saw Sasuke "pretty boy" Uchiha as the ultimate bad boy. I found that sort of generalization rude as heck and told them that when they both approached him with love letters at lunch. He had sat next to me at lunch, mumbling a hello and explaining that Hinata's mom and my mom were on a genin squad with his mom under Tsunade. He glared at me when I mentioned that means he knew not to cross an Uzumaki or be pranked to kingdom come. He swore that if I pranked him, I would regret it.

Shino had joined us after my beat-down by The Fangirl Squad about daring to question their love for Sasuke, which included several civilian ninja trainees and a random adult that passed by. That last one confused me. I made a note in my mind to ask my mom about it later. Shino had brought along the only other classmate to notice him, Shikamaru Nara and his tag along Choji Akamichi. I offered Choji some of my homemade ramen and found him warping next to me with the speed my mom uses when offered free ramen. He and I got along instantly. Shikamaru laid down next to him. I asked him if he would like some food since my mom made a bunch more than even I could eat, he declined saying he had eaten on the walk over to the tree and he had a strict training based diet.

I nodded and we moved into more fluid group based conversation after that. Kids being kids, ya know? Darn it. That verbal tick of mine has even made it into my account of what happens. Oh well. I can only move on. After lunch we moved back into the classroom for another lecture. This prompted me to groan quietly and drop my head onto the desk. I heard Iruka sensei's 'noise' shift around towards the class and get louder. I lifted my head up to see that he was demonstrating the first technique we were to learn. Transformation, or henge no jutsu was an odd ability. You could modify your body shape in weight and height, but only to about fifty percent increase or decrease for most average users. Masters of genjutsu could make themselves as small as a mouse with it in supplement to a genjutsu but not without. I made a note to study genjutsu so I could use it to sneak around better. Iruka sensei went on to mention the other things you could and could not do. You could alter your voice. There was no limit there. You could not mask your smell. I raised my hand when did not address why. I was called on.

"Iruka-sensei, why can you not mask smell? You said touch was covered which means that only smell is isolated." I asked and got a discerning look from a few of my fellow students as well as Iruka-sensei himself. He lifted his hand to acknowledge my question and then left it up to signify that he needed a minute to process my question.

His reply left many more questions in my head that I jotted down to ask my mother about later, "We are not really sure, Naruto-san. There is a branch of research going into it and that is all I am allowed to tell new recruits." I nodded at the answer as it explained earlier in the day that if we were told information was off limits, we had to inquire on our own time at home and at our own risk. After my quick little question, he had us all go through the hand signs necessary, assigning the complete list of all the hand-signs as homework for that lesson to be completed by next month. After assigning homework and receiving groans, he decided to have an impromptu test of our henge skill. Exceptions were made for those that did not know how to access their chakra yet. That was became tomorrow's lesson when over half of the class, mainly civilians, did not know how to access their chakra. I was among that half. He looked at me and instead of offering me advice simply said, "Ask your mother when you get home. I will send a note to the Hokage about reminding her since she forgot."

After school, several of my friends invited me over to play in a local park and I would have said yes if not for Kushina interrupting my answer with, "Sorry kids, but I need to teach my son to unlock his Chakra since it is an essential part of his training."

When we made it home, I was escorted to the training ground we had out back. I was told to cross my legs like I was going to meditate, but not to clear my mind. Instead I was told to focus on my own 'noise'. I did so and found that when focusing on my own chakra, other chakra's were quieter. I also realized that my chakra had already been activated. I quickly did the hand-signs for transformation and put in what I thought was only a small amount of my chakra. This resulted in a large amount of smoke as I was clearly using a large amount for a normal person. When the smoke cleared, it revealed my mom in the bikini I saw her wearing one time when she thought I was out for a nap. I had been practicing my stealth to try and prank her, but just ended up with another beat-down for peeking. I don't even know what that means, but I certianly started going to bed on time from then on. I felt pain erupt from the top of my head and heard, "Don't use that for inspiration! Try again with someone else!" from my mom. I cried and waited until the pain was gone, which wasn't too long.

After a second try with even less chakra, I appeared as Lord Hokage, down to the pipe with fake smoke coming out of it. She noticed something and had me try several different people that I knew, each on with less and less chakra. After the fourth I just kept using the same amount of chakra because I could not tell if there was less chakra or not. On the seventh try I asked, in Iruka-sensei's voice, what Kushina was trying to get at and also how to tell if I was using a small amount of chakra or not. She looked like I grew a second head and handed me a leaf. I was told to place the leaf on my forehead and keep it there with chakra. Several blown attempts later I got it to stick. This caused me to lose concentration. I quickly grabbed the leaf before it could get too far and tried to refocus myself.

Mother told me that should I be able to get one leaf to stick for an hour, that i should move the leaf to one of my limbs to help me familiarize myself with the pathways in those areas. She also inferred it would help with the next exercise once I had this one mastered. I shouted that I would have a leaf on all five limbs at the same time by this time next month. She laughed with glee at my enthusiastic response and said if I achieved my goal, she would teach me the next exercise. I jumped around joyfully for a few minutes and then sat back down to focus. I do not remember that day turning to night, but the next thing I remember aside from getting to an hour with the one leaf was my mom tucking me and telling me good night.

"Mom...?" I said sleepily as she was about to shut the door. "Yes, little Naruto-kun?" She said with love in her voice.  
"I love you. Thank you for training...me..." I said as I fell asleep. I did not hear her response, but later learned that she had said, "I love you too, son. Good night, Naruto. Your father would be proud." in a whispered voice.

**AN: Thank you for your patience with the wait in updates. I have been feeling better lately. To those reading this for the first time: Welcome! I hope you enjoy my story. I do not know when I will update again, but hopefully soon.  
A point of opinion on the state of the world in april of 2020, Please stay indoors when possible for your safety and others. Please wear a mask if you are sick. I wish everyone stays safe and well and for those that are sick a speedy and sound recovery.**


	3. Chapter 3

Reincarnation Cycle.  
Naruto Edition Chapter 3-

I lost track of time as the academy and training with mom rolled into one big blur. It has been a year, if the calendar is to be believed. The second year at the academy started yesterday. A few of the civilian kids have dropped out due to funding or lack of drive. I was not sad to see them go as most of them would bully me. Halway through the first year, someone leaked to the village that Mom and I were each Jinchuriki. When I did not asked surprised about this information, Kushina took me straight to the Hokage. He asked how I learned I was one and I told him the truth. He sighed and told me I shouldn't make up tall tales and to accept that the villagers may hate me, but I could rise above it.

Crossing my arms and saying that I wasn't lying didn't seem to help. Asking for a Yamanaka to scan my memories since I had learned about that in class recently got the acceptance I wanted after a fashion. Kushina had started getting angry that i was pushing this lie on everyone and then I started describing the fight they were in. She shushed me and nodded to the Hokage. He sent an Anbu for Ino-chan's Dad and he knelt next to me, explaining what the jutsu did.

I beckoned him a little closer and whispered, "You might be surprised what you find in there. Us strawberry blondes have less air in our heads." Snickering when he smiled at the childish dig. His hands shimmered and blurred as they went through hand-signs faster than I could track and was amazed to watch. He then placed a glowing hand on my forehead and told me to relax.

Finding myself in the park seconds later confused me. I hadn't even blinked. I looked around in a bit of a panic and heard Yamanaka-Sama's voice, "Relax Uzumaki-san. I am able to see what you see. A common occurance in kids mindscape is the Playground. It shows you feel safe there. Try calming exploring a bit and I will point out what we are looking for when I see it."

Exploring the mindscape proved to be less weird than I expected. I also requested that Inoichi call me Naruto. He suggested I do the same while we were here and to add the honorific onto his first name when in public. I agreed and right then a door appeared in the middle of the park that held the playground.

At his urging, I cautiously approached the strange door. Opening it lead to a bright light and my old apartment, before the Reincarnation. My old self looked up from a book he was reading and smiled, "About time you got... here... Hmm." Standing up he began to look me up and down.

"You are different from the Naruto I know. What happened?"Quizzed Michael with a serious tone. This caused Inoichi to phase out of me and stand protectively in front of me.

"Who are you and how do you know this boy?" Inoichi asked, a stern look appearing on both my old self and Inoichi. I tried to explain, but was immediately silenced by both adults.

"Naruto, I cannot understand what this man is saying." Inoichi said as soon as Michael had finished his question. "Do you?" A quick shake yes of my head got him to ask me to be a translator for both of us. The tension stayed in the room as I repeated Michael's question, "Do you believe in reincarnation?"

"I am Naruto's descendant. Two beings of great power transported me to their domain, offered me an opportunity to learn from my past lives and when I accepted I was transported into this body. The version of me before you is all of the memories from my original life. The version of me behind you is the current me. I am assuming this is to keep us sane during each lifetime, though I am not sure if we will integrate or stay seperate during the next one. If there is a next one, that is." Michael slowly explained as I repeated each sentence one after the other.

Inoichi thought it over for a few minutes. When he acknowledged the information, the thick tension lessened slowly as both adults relaxed in mutual respect and then suddenly Michael just flopped backwards onto the couch he had been on. He pointed at a new door and smirked, "You can seek more answers there, but be warned: I am not sure what is in there. I have not been in my own mind in my lifetime. They do not have mindscapes or Chakra where I came from."

Thinking quickly, I created a shadow clone and had it go in the door. Inoichi was startled that I could do that, but when I explained that it was my mind he seemed to accept it. I could tell he wanted to ask more questions, but my shadow clone popping gave me memories from the other side of the door. Apparently nothing happened other than my clone entering a room that had a televison, a tape player and walls of video tapes.

My clone had stuck in a random video tape and pushed play. It contained Michael's memories from the day prior to the powerful beings' offer. When he stopped the tape and ejected it, he examined it further to find a label with the date and time of the beginning of the tape as well as the end.

Conveying this to my escort proved to give him the information he needed and he made his way to the door, telling me to stay put. I asked if I could talk to my past self and he nodded, before telling me to be cautious.

"I think it is amusing that I can understand both of you and he can only understand you." Michael pointed out and I chuckled before sending two more clones into the room with Inoichi. One for to let him know what I just learned and the other to sneak into the corner to watch. After all, it was my mind wasn't it?

"Well, he knows that now. How come you do not seem surprised by me making clones of myself if there was no chakra in your world?" I asked. By this point I had accepted that my memories of the past only included this world. When this first came to my mind and that I could not recall my old face or memories, I panicked. Mom helped me calm down and I claimed I had a bad dream. She did not believe me, but I did not know how to explain what had run through my mind.

"Believe it or not, I read and watched a fictional story about this lifetime many years before I came to your life. I know several likely events that may occur. Although at this rate, things are already vastly different. You would be an orphan and an idiot otherwise. Not something I wish for you, but I can only help you so far. I do not know which of my memories hold..." Michael explained, before cutting off as Inoichi returned and with a hurry in his step.

"Naruto, do you understand the language he is speaking fluently enough to be able to translate someone else speaking it?" Inoichi asking, although I could tell it wasn't a question I could ignore or make light of. I nodded slowly, unsure where this was going. "May I ask to copy this language from you so I can communicate with your past self as well as understand the videos?"

Quickly understanding the language barrier was a major issue, I consented. Within minutes Inoichi was holding his head and grimacing. He turned to Michael and asked, "How do you have memories of things that have not happened yet?"

Michael sighed and put a slip of plastic in his book. He sat back up and looked the older ninja dead in the eye, "I do not have the future in my memories. I have the conclusion to a story that contained characters matching people in your lives. It could lead to the same future, but it could also be differently. Naruto's birth is already different. Which memory did you view?"

Sighing in relief, Inoichi answered, "I viewed a fight between someone with a Eye Technique that I have never seen before and my daughter's team. She grew to be strong, but I am worried that it will come to pass."

Michael nodded, "I remember reading that fight. I watched it once, several years ago. You have several years before that happens. I take it time in here is different than out there?" After confirmation, he continued, "Alright. I do not mind you watching more. Please explain to the Hokage that anything in there is an S-class secret. There are technologies that should NOT be replicated at ALL. Also, can you help me orginize it better than just the date and time? I would like to allow you to search for specific things and be able to keep certain things from you should I belive they will be harmful to you, myself or your society."

Inoichi said he would have to end the Jutsu as he was running out of Chakra, something both Michael and I doubted heavily. Before either of us could express that doubt, I was back in the chair facing the Hokage and my mom. Worry was across both of their faces and Inoichi's words did nothing to alleviate it.

Lord Third came around his desk and knelt in front of me. Asking if I would allow him and my mother to join us in their so they could ask questions and ascertain whether or not he could be trusted. I nodded, getting slightly weary of the situation and vocalized that they should be given the language from Inoichi so they could understand him.

Several moments and headaches later we were back in my mindscape. This time we appeared in the living room instantly instead of the playground. At my voiced confusion Michael explained, "Inoichi left a clone here. He is a clever one, but did not quite realize that I am thou and thou art I. I control what goes on in this room and the room of my memories. Apparently when you are not here, I can access the defenses of the mind. I wrapped up the clone without harm and merely allowed Inoichi to use it as a beacon for his chakra to latch on to. Thus your arrival here. We had quite a lovely chat about manners, whether or not I can be trusted and how trust is a two way street. I am more aware of your procedures and rules than he knew."

He then bowed to The Hokage in a sign of respect, manifesting some tea for all three adults and a liquid that he said was "juice" for me. He smirked when Kushina almost smacked my head as I practically dove for it with gusto. I sniffed it and dipped a finger for a poison test like she had taught although I did this right in front of him as I knew he wouldn't be offended. It wasn't poisoned, but careful was an alive shinobi.

I gulped it down and asked for more as polite as I could maintain with my excitement, he acquiesced after saying that this one would have to be drank slower as it was the last one he would make for me until they were done talking.

Slowing my consumption of the tasty drink way down, I started paying more attention to what was being said. Apparently Lord Third was concerned that Michael was a spy or a demon. He was slightly assured by Michael's carefully worded promise that harm to Naruto would be harm to himself. Kushina looked deep into Michael's eyes for several minutes of awkward silence and then nodded, giving him a hug that was awkward for him only.

After the Hug, both older male Ninja relaxed significantly. I commented on this and Michael explained it to me, "Kushina has what is called, "Negative emotion sense. With it she can tell when people are feeling negative things and also with enough training whether what they are saying is the truth. She used that to determine if I was being truthful and trustworthy. She liked what she found and accepted I am who I say I am."

Mom, Lord Third and Inoichi nodded while the latter added, "It goes a bit beyond that, but let us move on. May I transfer the basic lesson us Yamanaka's go to into your mind?"

Michael shook his head and said, "I do not have Chakra. I may be in his mindscape, but I cannot use Chakra. I would simply be a void that..." Kushina interrupted with, "You do too. Maybe your original self where the beings are does not, but this version of you does. I can feel it."

He looked confused as this and put his hands into a mangled version of the ram sign. Something she gently corrected when his attempt resulted in no response. I chimed in that he needed to relax first as well. He gave me a dry look and leaned back, holding the correct sign and meditated.

Moments later a small amount of chakra lined his hands which surprised Lord Third. Michael stopped channeling and smiled wide, "I guess I do. Lay it on me, mind-walker."

Grimacing at the bad nickname, I watched as our guide in mind-related jutsu gave Michael the basic skills needed to both protect his part of the mindscape and also help guide me through communication. Something that he spoke aloud for my benefit and I gained instantly as well. I marvelled aloud that when Michael gained it, I did. Lord Third postulated that this was because he was the original, hinting that should I encounter an attacker in my mind, I could lead them here and both Michael and I could defeat them.

Nodding, Michael slowly went through some hand signs, focused and molded his mindscape. Nothing in the room we were currently in changed, but I assumed that we were in the 'greeting room' as I liked to call it. I stood up when he said he was finished and went to the room that appeared. He followed and we all went into the redesigned room. It was similar to the old version except it now had rows of dics on each wall and a black box hooked up with wires to the giant tv. He called this a computer. Pressing a button, it turned on and the screen lit up. He used an object on a string to move one of the symbols on the screen and pressed the object, a mouse, making a clicking noise. This caused the screen to change.

He pressed repeatedly on another object called a 'keyboard' and this resulted in letters appearing on screen,"Typing is what you do on a keyboard. I will explain later. I have now brought up everything on someone you need to be aware of, Lord Third. I am not sure if you have done so yet or not, but if you have he has disobeyed you."

Lord Third moved slightly past us all and stared at the screen. I couldn't see his face but his posture was tense. After a few moments he pointed and asked, "Could you play the movie with the fight between him and Sasuke there?"

What followed was an amazing display of Ninjutsu and skill that made me REALLY want to get better and being a ninja. I curbed my excitement as I heard what both Sasuke and Danzo were talking about. After it was over The Hokage turned and said, "Inoichi. Release me. There is something I must take care of."

Michael frowned and while readying up another movie said, "Wait. There is something else I must show you." Clicking play showed a compliation of Orochimaru's hideouts and what he had been up to. This included the potential future of both him and Kabuto, a medic I had visited once when Mom had sent me to Tsunade. Tsunade had been too busy for me.

Lord Third nodded and asked, "Is that everything?" He received an affirmative Grunt and we were ALL in the Hokage's office. I was about to ask why all of us were taken out when Kushina scooped me up and took me home. The village exploded into action as hundreds of different ANBU were everywhere. Some were fighting and some were apprehending people that looked to be average civilians. I was astounded. I had never seen that much motion. We made it home quickly and met Tsunade, her new apprentice Shizune and Kabuto there.

Kabuto was quickly taken captive and a quick flare of Kushina's Chakra brought an ANBU. A staredown insued as Mom determined if this was one of ours or Danzo's, but thankfully it was over quickly with Kabuto being handed over and sealed using a seals, a pair of cuffs and rope.

I was escorted inside my Shizune as this was going on so I didn't see him leave, but I was glad that he was captured. I worried a litte about what this would do to the Timeline that Michael had shown me briefly, but figured I could discuss this with him while I waited. I did not expect for my sight to go black and my consciousness to fade. The last thing I heard was Shizune crying out my name.

**I am updating WAAAY earlier than I did last time. It is a slightly smaller chapter. I hope you can understand. I will try to write a longer chapter next time. As you have noticed, things will start to differ VASTLY from the Canon here(as if they weren't already majorly different). Also: Evil cliffhanger... Mwahaha**

**Review, follow and favorite, please.**


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